How To Spy On Your Competition

How To Spy On Your Competition

Something we do for our clients is a “Competitor Analysis” as it is crucial to understanding what their competition is selling and how they are achieving their sales, and where they are advertising, etc.

To do your own competitive analysis to see where you should also be advertising and marketing your goods and services online here are a few websites to help you.

If you will be advertising in print, get all the publications that serve your area and create your own clipping folder. Simply clip out the ads of your competitors and write the date on the ad. Then check the publication for at least 3 months to see if they are continuing their ads in that publication, if you see they are you should consider that publication as well.

The theory to this guerrilla marketing technique is that if your competition is still marketing there over and over they must be getting a return on investment. (Providing they are not foolish.) If you are unsure then check for longer than a three month period. Another trick is to call the publication and ask them their rates by run time. In other words, if they have a 3 month minimum you will know soon what’s up. (Sometimes the publication will tell you how long the competitor has run their ad but be careful. If they say a competitor has run their ad for over a year with them make sure you ask if they have run consecutively.

If you own a business that traditionally uses coupons next time you go to your mailbox (if you live in the area you serve) don’t throw out your coupon magazines and coupon books. Use these for competitive analysis as well.

Don’t forget to check the competitions website for information about their products, services, pricing, clients, news, etc. Some might display the places they advertise in. (don’t do that.) Then check the publications as described above.

So once you know where they are advertising what do you do.

The first thing is to make absolute sure the website or publication serves your customer profile. Do not advertise anywhere this is not the case. Then you call the media to get your best deal. Then you track your advertising to make sure it is bringing a return on investment. If it’s not, all is not lost. Tweak your ad to see if you can generate a ROI. Only if you can turn it around, stay in.

This is a simplified way to do this. If you need help call us at 732-818-0080 and set up your free consultation.